My Esteemed Business Partner
by silliana
Summary: [A Lizzie Bennet Diaries story] It's late. They're exhausted. And Charlotte is pretty sure Ricky, her grade-school crush, just referred to her presence as "stimulating." Can you really blame her for what happens next? Oh, dear. [One-shot]


I really wanted to read me some good Charlotte Lu/Ricky Collins fanfic, and I couldn't find any, so I had to write some myself. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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"Ms. Lu, as always, your remarkable efficiency has aided in producing a product of the most esteemed quality for Collins & Collins."

Perhaps the fact that they'd been in the Collins & Collins conference room for fourteen hours straight was the reason Collins's voice lacked its usual grandiloquent energy. Charlotte had been starting to wonder if his enthusiasm ever flagged.

"Yes, Mr. Collins, as you can see, the first set of instructional videos are complete and ready to be uploaded and embedded. I think we've done very well."

"Oh, no, Ms. Lu! Do not for one moment doubt that I give you full credit for your estimable achievements on behalf of Collins & Collins. I was merely an observer of greatness."

That was one thing about Ricky - about Collins, that is - that Charlotte appreciated. He was willing to take advice and always gave credit where credit was due. Yes, he was pompous and a bit silly, but in the months that Charlotte had been working for him, she'd learned how to manage him without him even realizing he was being managed. There was a trick to it. He wasn't a bad guy, bright, ambitious… just maybe a little too intense. And possibly ranking on the autism spectrum for complete inability to understand social cues.

"Thank you, Mr. Collins. I have to say, while I'm satisfied with what we've managed to accomplish, I wish Ms. De Bourgh had told us about this deadline sooner."

Ricky's eyes widened - _no, Collins's eyes_, she reminded herself. "Surely she informed us of her decision as soon as she made it. Ms. De Bourgh is a busy woman, and expects the same level of commitment from the managers of her investments that she herself gives to each of her financial endeavours."

Sensing that another extended speech extolling the VC's virtues was forthcoming, Charlotte quickly interjected. "Indeed. Well, it's been a long day, R - Mr. Collins. You must be tired."

She must be tired, too. She _never_ slipped up and called him Ricky, even if she thought it sometimes.

"Quite so! I have expended all my excesses of energy into these videos, the product of my fruitful labour and - "

He yawned hugely, and Charlotte couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, do pardon me. I fear that you might mistake my motives and conclude that I am disinterested or, may I say, bored in your company; but the reverse is true, of course. Your presence is always stimulating, in fact the exact opposite of tedious, and my body is merely reacting with fatigue to the strenuous conditions under which I have put it today. Not that I mind dedicating such long hours to this enterprise, but they do inevitably take their toll at some point, do they not?"

Was she imagining things or had she caught something about her presence being "stimulating," somewhere in that avalanche of words? Somewhere close to "body"? Charlotte shook her head to clear her thoughts. She must be even more exhausted than she'd realized if her brain was going off in _that_ direction. Her… and Ricky? Yeah, right.

"Is that a no, Ms. Lu?"

"What?" Had she zoned out there? Or had she just said "Yeah, right" out loud? Either way, she hoped that she didn't look as guilty as she felt. He already looked a bit crestfallen. She couldn't imagine what he would do if he guessed what she was thinking. "My apologies, Mr. Collins. I think my exhaustion is getting the best of me. Can you repeat that?"

"Of course. I was just proposing to my exceedingly efficient business partner that we share a celebratory nightcap in honour of our success before we retire for the evening."

Oh, a drink! God, but her mind was going to weird places if she'd ever imagined he would offer anything else.

"I think a celebratory nightcap sounds like an excellent way to end this very successful day," she said, with a smile to make up for wanting something else.

Ricky beamed. "Most excellent! To my office, then."

Collins & Collins was dark and deserted. Charlotte hadn't realized how quiet and empty it had gotten while they'd been holed up in the conference room. Being here felt… surreal, maybe? Rebellious? Even Ricky - Mr. Collins - was silent for once. Glancing over, she noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes, and he was yawning again. She suppressed a smile. When he yawned he looked kind of cute, like an excited puppy who had tuckered himself out from chasing his tail for too long.

He was rarely quiet. She'd gotten used to his rambling voice over the past few months. Whether she was meeting with him, eating dinner with De Bourgh, sitting in her office listening to his conversation drift down the hall, or at a networking event listening to him talk her up to his contacts, his voice had become… well, comforting background chatter, but welcome nonetheless.

Neither of them spoke until they reached Ricky's office. "I hope you enjoy cognac," he said finally. "I know that scotch is very much _de rigeur_, but I prefer the old-world charm of an aged cognac for my own celebratory beverage."

"Cognac is fine." Cognac? Really? She didn't think she'd ever had cognac. She didn't think she knew anyone who'd ever had cognac, except for Collins, obviously.

He passed her a glass filled with a golden liquid. "To the completion of a successful project for our enterprise!"

"Hear, hear," she said, and they clinked glasses.

The cognac was strong, but tastier than she'd anticipated. It sent a pleasant warming sensation down her throat, and she decided that she could learn to enjoy it.

"Ah, is there anything in life finer than a good cognac after a job well done?"

Was that a rhetorical question? It felt like a rhetorical question. She could think of a lot of things in life finer than drinking cognac in her business partner's office at eleven o'clock on a Friday night.

Charlotte took another bracing sip of cognac. "Mr. Collins, forgive me if I'm overstepping any boundaries, but I'm curious. What do you normally do on a Friday night?"

He blinked.

"Do you… spend time with friends? Watch TV? Um, Skype with your fiancée?"

"My… oh, yes, my fiancée! She and I do engage in personal videoconferencing fairly regularly." He cleared his throat. "And yourself?"

"I usually spend my Friday nights unwinding with a book or a documentary. When my sister and Lizzie were here we would go out for dinner sometimes. But I haven't had the opportunity to meet very many new people here."

"Nor have I," Ricky admitted. "Other than in a professional context, of course. My network of professional contacts is very extensive. But I quite enjoy business dinners with you and Ms. De Bourgh."

"Are you ever lonely?"

The cognac must be emboldening her. No matter how curious she was, she ordinarily wouldn't have let herself ask something like that.

A beat. "I suppose, on occasion, I have been known to wish for more companionship. Although now that I have a business partner, and with the recent visits of your sister, Ms. Bennett, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Williams. Now that they've all departed, I've found myself, as you say… lonely." He was staring into his cognac, very studiously not making eye contact. "I'm very grateful that you're here, Charlotte."

The words hung in the air for a moment, and Charlotte felt the bottom of her stomach drop. Yes. _Yes_. _Yes_!

Ricky's eyes widened. "Oh, my goodness gracious! My most sincere apologies, Ms. Lu, I did not intend to address you in such an informal manner. What a gross breach of politeness on my part! I sincerely hope that you can forgive me for the slip of my tongue, as I - "

"Ricky," she interrupted. He froze, his mouth still shaping a word. Charlotte stepped closer. "Please never say 'slip of my tongue' like that again."

And she kissed him, as she'd wanted to do in seventh grade when they were the top two winners in the school math contest, as she'd wanted to do when she'd first seen him do costume theatre on Lizzie's vlog, as she'd wanted to do every single day since she'd formally become his business partner.

When she stepped back, Ricky looked flustered, and maybe a bit baffled. He cleared his throat several times, staring at something beside her left ear. "That's - uh - I imagine you're correct, as always, Ms. Lu. The appropriate expression is 'slip of _the_ tongue' and I - um. It has been a long and strenuous day, and I shall henceforth get myself home to bed - " He flushed bright red. "That is. I am going home to unwind - to relax - to - ah - good night, Ms. Lu."

And he hurried out of the office.

"Good night, Mr. Collins," she called after him.

She would worry about what she'd gotten herself into, and the potential existence of the phantom fiancee, tomorrow. Tonight, she just let herself smile.


End file.
